Consultation on the Local Growth Plan for South Yorkshire - presentation to SYSEF

1. Local Growth Plan

2. South Yorkshire Mayoral Combined Authority
What is the Local Growth Plan and what’s it for?
LGP to be published in late summer 2025.
• Provide a long-term regional focus for growth in line with the 10-year statutory commitment.
• Prioritise actions to address constraints on growth. Will contribute to discussions around
prioritising our Integrated Settlement.

3. South Yorkshire Mayoral Combined Authority
How are we approaching development of LGP?
• Building on existing strategies, frameworks and plans. Plan for Good Growth, Local Authority
growth plans etc.
• Value-add of the LGP will be refining our regional narrative on growth and developing consensus on
set of actions we will pursue in short, medium and long-term.
• Consulting as we go. Working with partners to co-develop and iterate contents of the plan.

4. South Yorkshire Mayoral Combined Authority
What’s growth for?
Person-
level
Community-
level
South
Yorkshire
National/
international
Connections
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Sustainable
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Connections: Fast, affordable and reliable
Transport & Digital connections to
jobs/leisure/health
Work: Thriving enterprises offering good
employment & a fair wage
Sustainable: A sustainable South Yorkshire
Organisations: Trusted organisations which
make decisions with people impacted and
prioritise those left behind
Communities: Safe, vibrant communities in
which people have pride to look after each
other
Housing: Access to safe, secure, warm
housing for everyone
Health: A Healthier South Yorkshire
Opportunity: A good start in life, with
everyone having the support, and gaining the
skills, they need to access opportunities
The Plan should be responding to a set of clear
outcomes that we want to achieve as a region.
We have identified current set of placeholder outcomes
which we will iterate over spring/summer 2025.

5. South Yorkshire Mayoral Combined Authority
What do we mean by ‘Growth’?
South Yorkshire’s regional outcomes demand a broad
definition to growth.
Productivity growth must be delivered alongside
decarbonisation and reducing inequality.
We believe productivity growth is necessary for
decarbonisation and to increase living standards but
our growth strategy must in turn be shaped by these
factors .

6. South Yorkshire Mayoral Combined Authority
Example of evidence base
Business and sector mix –
complexity, higher-wage occupations
and tradeable jobs
South Yorkshire has fewer traded sector jobs and has experienced slower traded sector job growth than national
averages, with 32% of jobs in tradable sectors compared with 35.6% nationally. Growth has been strong in Sheffield
and Barnsley, but weaker in Rotherham and Doncaster.
Firm productivity, investment and
innovation
If Gross Fixed Capital Formation (GFCF) per capita in South Yorkshire were the same as in Greater Manchester, South
Yorkshire would see an additional £800m invested in capital in 2020. Businesses accounted for just over 30% of
spending on R&D in 2018 compared to 68% nationally.
Intra and inter-regional connectivity
that is sustainable
An increase in the size of the labour market in South Yorkshire by 10% following transport improvements could
generate an additional £3.0bn to £3.3bn in annual GVA. Switching to sustainable methods of transport will also help
reduce largest source of carbon emissions in the region.
Performance of our core city and
urban centres
Approximately 618,000 people live within a 45-minute commute of Sheffield City Centre by public transport, just over
half the equivalent number for Manchester and below both Leeds and Liverpool. The core city has challenges but
momentum on economic complexity and innovation hotspots.
Work and health
South Yorkshire has the lowest healthy life expectancy (HLE) for both the male and female sex at 59.47 and 60.18
respectively.
30% of the region’s productivity gap is related to ill-health. The level of NEET 16-17 year olds is consistently higher than
the national average.
Skills attainment and retention
Compared to comparator MCAs, South Yorkshire has the highest share of its population aged 20-24 with NVQ4+ but
smallest share of its total working age population educated to a higher education level or above (NVQ4+).
Quality of place – leisure, cultural
offer, environment
Public funding for the culture, arts and heritage sector in South Yorkshire is significantly lower than both national
averages and in equivalent city regions.
Quality of housing stock, housing
and commercial development
SY has lower commercial space per capita than other regions (75%, compared with 80% in GM and WY), and lower
Grade A commercial space (13%, compared with 25% in GM).
We have a good understanding of the barriers we face in improving regional living standards…

7. South Yorkshire Mayoral Combined Authority
But need to focus efforts on what we do about it…
From a regional and local government perspective, we need to think carefully about prioritisation of the
integrated settlement
Big theme that comes out of research on economic development in the region…
Need for thriving (productive) businesses but also ‘good business’
• Need for higher wages
• Fair contracts
• Support to remain in work
The Local Growth Plan will need clarify what we as a region want to focus on in this space and the role of
local government (MCA with Local Authorities) in this space

8. South Yorkshire Mayoral Combined Authority
If by 2035 we want to have shifted approaches to ‘good business’ in the region
If we want a significant shift in wage levels in the region…
If we want to have more people in work with long-term health conditions who are supported to
remain in work…
If we want more people to be supported to upskill in-work…
If we want to support different business models…
Where do we need to focus efforts? What role do different partners play (third sector,
public sector etc.)?